Despite suffering major losses caused by Hurricane Sandy in October, members of the East Rockaway Little League were big winners last Saturday as a bevy of new equipment was donated to the league.

Pitch In For Baseball (PIFB), a not-for-profit that collects and redistributes new and gently-used youth baseball and softball equipment to communities in need all across the world, is donating $150,000 worth of equipment to youth baseball leagues and communities in the New York and New Jersey area that were impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.

Last Saturday, a truckload of equipment including bats, balls, gloves, batting helmets, uniforms, batting tees, catchers gear and more will be arriving from the organization’s Philadelphia warehouse and distributed to East Rockaway Little League baseball representatives and families in need. Parents, coaches and kids helped unload the truck and restock the league’s equipment shed, which was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. The shed was submerged in nine feet of water during the storm and all of the equipment inside was washed out to sea. In addition, gloves, bats and balls stored in family garages for the winter were also destroyed.

Other communities receiving support from Pitch in for Baseball include Island Park, North Merrick, Oceanside, and Rockaway on Long Island and the New Jersey towns of Bayonne and Bayshore.

For more information, visit www.pitchinforbaseball.org and www.erbaseball.org. Online registration is still open for the East Rockaway Little League and the season gets underway on April 6.